There have been plenty of update-worthy things happening lately, but I am just getting around to doing the updating part. When I last left you all, I was still waiting to get my work contract (en français: arrêté de nomination). I had to postpone my original trip to Houston once...so I was of course getting down to the wire on getting that stuff done. The contact person through the embassy in the States is very clear from the beginning that we should NOT contact her at all asking about our work contracts unless we have not received them by August 5th. Of course, I sent her an email the night of August 4th (what can I say? I'm a rebel).
I was pleased to hear back from her quickly. She said she would try reaching out to the department in charge of all these types of things. Of course, this department is in the region I'm moving to...in France. She said they all seem to shut down over the summer so it may take a bit to hear from someone in that office.
Luckily she emailed me back 2 days(ish) later saying that she was able to speak with someone from the office. There was no way of knowing for sure whether my contract had been sent in the mail yet...but that I should expect a scanned copy of it as soon as the woman working on mine gets back in town. However, she was able to tell me that I have in fact been placed in Amiens proper. She also said that I will be working at an elementary school called Ecole Sagebien. Upon arrival, I will most likely find out I have 1-2 more school placements. Very rarely do people get only 1 school assignment.
PROGRESS. Although, I am sure you're getting an idea of how things work. Il faut avoir de la patience...
I was told to go ahead and reschedule my Houston visa appointment for sometime around the 19th of August. I ended up rescheduling my appointment for Thursday, August 21st.
Within a couple days, I got an email from the woman working on my contract. She apologized for the delay. Apparently the work contract was just getting to their office...which means I highly doubt I would have ever gotten the contract in the mail...which means scanning capabilities are a plus. She scanned me a copy of my contract and I was told that I could just print it and use it for my visa appointment.
YAY! The last hiccup was the fact that my birthdate was wrong on the contract. This is one of those things that has to be right. I was able to get a letter from the office in Amiens explaining that the mistake was a typing error, etc. I would just present that to the agent at the office along with all my other paperwork.
Houston, we are clear for takeoff.
I left for Houston on Wednesday, August 20th. I was able to work for at least half the day which was nice. I was able to test out my new (or new to me) Osprey bag on the trip down. It has been so long since I've been to Houston, and I had to keep checking to make sure my face hadn't melted off. Seriously hot.
My aunt and her sister picked me up in the airport.
traffic. traffic. traffic.
We got to my Uncle Greg's house and just hung out. I had originally planned to stay for a couple days the first time, but since I had to reschedule everything was sort of short and sweet. We just hung out a bit, had BBQ for dinner and went to bed. It was an early night.
I obsessively checked my folder with all my paperwork in it. I obsessively checked to make sure I had a million alarms set. I laid my clothes out and went to bed.
I had to be up bright and early the next day. Got up around 6:15. Drank coffee with a crazed expression on my face, and got ready. We had to leave the house at 7:15 in order to give enough time to sit in traffic and be at the consulate by my appointment at 8:30.
Traffic was nice to us. We were there by 8:10 or so. I decided to go in a bit early in case they were able to get to me sooner than expected.
fancy lobby pictures
merde just got real
so official
Once I got into the office, I put my appointment ticket at the front window and took a seat. There was only one other man in there waiting for his appointment. All of the agents were sitting in the office, sipping on their café. They didn't seem to be in any rush at all. Not surprising...nor do I blame them. The café smelled amazing. The other man got called to the window first.
I'm not sure what the other consultes are like, but the one in Houston is very open. When you get called up for your appointment, there isn't really a sectioned off area where you do things privately, it's just slightly off to the side from the rest of the waiting room. This poor man. I don't know what was going on. He was supposed to be going to France for work...and he was departing the very next day! Also, his passport was about to expire...and there was some confusion as to how he would get his visa. You see, he needed his passport to leave the country. The consulate also needed his passport so they could put the visa in it. Oh dear. It seemed stressful, confusing, and hopeless. Wasn't exactly the best person to be following.
While he was in his appointment, a younger guy (probably 28-30ish) walked into the office. I so wish I had gotten his contact info! He would have been a great person to hang out with if we ever got the chance. He had driven down from Austin for the appointment. He recently moved back to Texas from NYC. He is moving in September as well. He'll be living in Paris...and guess what this guy gets to do?! He will be working in Le Marais (a neighborhood in Paris) to help open up a butcher shop.
Our conversation revolves around how he is opening up a butcher shop in one of the older districts in Paris. I am not sure the moment could have been any more french considering we were in an office in Houston, surrounded by highways.
Neat guy.
Neat guy got called up for his appointment. They ended up needing some more docs from him, so he came back with some forms to fill out. "Mademoiselle Grounds"
double merde...
It actually wasn't bad at all. I had everything I needed to have, which made it very easy for him. He stamped my residency form and gave it back to me. I passed him my stack of papers to sort through and he asked a couple questions. He took a picture, collected my pre-paid envelope and said my visa should be processed in about a week and I should receive everything back soon after.
It probably only took about 15 minutes from the time I was called.
What a relief it was to have that part done. We went to breakfast and then I got dropped at the airport.
I'd just like to clarify that this is not the picture for my visa. I'm just sassy.
Last Friday (August 29th), I got my passport w/ my visa attached in the mail! YES!!! The picture is absolutely horrible, but whatever. I'd like to do a little shoutout to the French Consulate in Houston for their speedy service. If you were a restaurant, I'd give you 5 stars.
I leave in less than a week. I will be flying up to NYC until Monday when I fly out to Iceland. Speaking of Iceland, let's hope all of this volcano stuff keeps somewhat calm. I'm not wanting to get stuck in Reykjavik. I'll be there for 4 nights.
I saw this video the other day while I was doing some research on things I want to try to do. Goodness oh Mighty. This place looks incredible.
One day at a time though. Looking forward to seeing Samantha. Lots of emotions these days. Feels sad to say goodbye, but am so thankful for what's to come. It's an unreal opportunity. Hopefully I'm good about sharing it here.
Lots of love!
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